College of Engineering Celebrates Excellence at 2025 Dean鈥檚 Awards Dinner
The College of Engineering celebrated exceptional seniors and graduate students from the Class of 2025 at the 50th annual Dean鈥檚 Awards Dinner, held on Thursday, April 3, at Overbrook Golf Club in 柑橘直播, Pa. The event recognized academic excellence and achievement during a milestone year in which approximately 250 students will earn bachelor鈥檚 degrees, 68 will complete their master鈥檚 programs and 10 will be awarded doctoral degrees.
Engineering Midshipman Award聽
This recognition is awarded to a Midshipman 1st Class enrolled in the College of Engineering. The awardee is recognized for exemplary achievement in three specific areas: outstanding academic achievement as indicated by a GPA of 3.5 or higher; leadership as demonstrated by participation in leadership and/or management positions in 柑橘直播鈥檚 NROTC unit; and service to the College of Engineering. The recipient of the 2025 Engineering Midshipman Award was鈥疉lex Alcalay 鈥�25 ME.
Engineering Entrepreneurship Student Achievement Award聽
The Engineering Entrepreneurship Student Achievement Award is presented to a graduating Engineering student with a minor in Engineering Entrepreneurship who has achieved distinction through demonstration of exceptional entrepreneurial pursuit both inside and outside the classroom. The recipient of the 2025 Engineering Entrepreneurship Student Achievement Award was鈥疜ristina Cooper 鈥�25 CE.聽
Humanitarian Engineering Student Award聽
This award is presented to a graduating Engineering student who exemplifies a commitment to serving communities in need through applied engineering, technical support on sustainable development and ethical engagement in a global context. The recipient of the 2025 Humanitarian Engineering Student Award was鈥疭amson Koinange 鈥�25 MSSE.
Academic Achievemen迟听
The Dean鈥檚 Award for Academic Achievement was established to recognize outstanding academic performance by a graduating senior. The Dean presents this award to students in the top 10% of their major at the end of the fall term. The recipients for 2025 were:
Autria Aidun 鈥�25 ChE
Ryan Apple 鈥�25 ME
Liam Baker 鈥�25 CpE
Jack Bakery 鈥�25 ME
Sadie Callahan 鈥�25 CE
Liam Coster 鈥�25 EE
Matthew DeMarco 鈥�25 CPE
George Divone 鈥�25 CE
Elizabeth Feczko 鈥�25 ME
Alexander Fink 鈥�25 CPE
Andrew Gigantino 鈥�25 CE
Ellen Hagerty 鈥�25 CE
Lauren Iskander 鈥�25 ChE
Kathryn Ix 鈥�25 CpE*
Robert Jackson 鈥�25 ME
Jonathan Liu 鈥�25 EE
Riley McCarry 鈥�25 ME
Michael McNally 鈥�25 CE
Katarina Medori 鈥�25 CE
Sofia Nicastro 鈥�25 ChE
John O鈥橪oughlin 鈥�25 ME
Julian Pastor 鈥�25 ChE
Claire Steckley 鈥�25 ChE
Jackson Tucker 鈥�25 ME
Troy White 鈥�25 CE*
Michael Wojtenko 鈥�25 ChE
Elsaid Youssef 鈥�25 ME
Jillian Zeiger 鈥�25 EE
*Receiving an honors degree
Meritorious Service
The Dean鈥檚 Award for Meritorious Service was established to recognize exceptional service to the College of Engineering as reflected in sustained extracurricular or service activities. Selected students demonstrated noteworthy leadership in one or more activities.鈥疶his year鈥檚 recipients were:
Darien Alston-Baldwin 鈥�25 CpE
Sadie Callahan 鈥�25 CE
Kathryn Collins 鈥�25 CE
Rosslyn Cueva 鈥�25 ChE
Nicholas Der Garabedian 鈥�25 ChE
Mia Farina 鈥�25 ME
Lauren Iskander 鈥�25 ChE
Kathryn Ix 鈥�25 CpE
Joseph Koebbe 鈥�25 ME
Sofia Nicastro 鈥�25 ChE
Daelyn Nwaobasi 鈥�25 ME
Julian Pastor 鈥�25 ChE
Dallianny Perez Lantigua 鈥�25 CE
Sarah Petrus 鈥�25 ChE
Ariana Rojas 鈥�25 CpE
Derrek Samuels 鈥�25 ME
Melissa Silva 鈥�25 ME
Matthew Silvi 鈥�25 ME
Luke Truscott 鈥�25 ME
Christian Tsai 鈥�25 ME
Joshua Umenyiora 鈥�25 CpE
Elsaid Youssef 鈥�25 ME
Department Medallions
The criteria used in determining the winners of the department medallions include academic achievement as indicated by the cumulative and technical grade point averages, as well as the quality and consistency of the co-curricular contributions that the student has made to the College and the department. This year鈥檚 recipients were:
Robert E. White Chemical Engineering Award:鈥疉utria Aidun 鈥�25 ChE
Civil and Environmental Engineering Outstanding Student Award:鈥�Troy White 鈥�25 CE
Computer Engineering Outstanding Student Award:鈥�Darien Alston-Baldwin 鈥�25 CpE
Electrical Engineering Outstanding Student Award:鈥�Liam Coster 鈥�25 EE
Mechanical Engineering Outstanding Student Award:鈥�Elsaid Youssef 鈥�25 ME
Departmental Master of Science Student Awards
These department-level awards are presented in recognition of outstanding graduate research, leadership and service to the College. The honorees for 2025 were:
Daniel Comeau 鈥�25 MSCE
Haritha Rajaram 鈥�25 MSBChE
Emily Sommers 鈥�23 ME, 鈥�25 MSME
Sam Coulon 鈥�23 CpE, 鈥�25 MSCpE
College of Engineering Outstanding Master of Science Student Award
The College of Engineering Outstanding Master of Science Student Award is presented to a graduating master鈥檚 degree student who has achieved distinction through outstanding graduate academics and research, and through exemplary leadership and service to 柑橘直播 and the College of Engineering. The 2025 recipient was鈥�Catherine Marino 鈥�23 CE, 鈥�25 MSCE, whose master鈥檚 thesis is titled 鈥淓nhancing the Long-Term Performance of SMPs Through Media Design.鈥� She was advised by Dr. Kristin Sample-Lord.
College of Engineering Outstanding Doctoral Student Award
The College of Engineering Outstanding Doctoral Student Award is presented to a graduating PhD student who has achieved distinction through outstanding scholarship in the doctoral program and through exemplary leadership and service to 柑橘直播 University and the College of Engineering. The recipients of this year鈥檚 Outstanding Doctoral Student Award were鈥�Mohamed Said 鈥�25 PhD and Liang Zhao 鈥�25 PhD. Mohamed鈥檚 dissertation is titled 鈥淎ccounting Long-term Fluvial Geomorphology Behavior of Rivers Under Various Climatic Conditions,鈥� and he was advised by Dr. Virginia Smith. Liang鈥檚 dissertation is titled 鈥淲ater-processed assembly of building blocks on hard-to-wet polymers: manufacturing and applications,鈥� and he was advised by Dr. Bo Li.鈥��
Robert D. Lynch Award
The Robert D. Lynch Award was instituted in 2003 in honor of the Dean of the College of Engineering from 1975 to 2000. Sponsored by the 柑橘直播 University Engineering Alumni Society, this prestigious award acknowledges a graduating senior for their outstanding academic achievements and exemplary dedication to serving the community, thus representing the highest values of 柑橘直播 University and the College of Engineering. The Robert D. Lynch Award recipient for the Class of 2025 was鈥�Sofia Nicastro 鈥�25 ChE.